


Homesick

by GreenSorceress



Category: Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: Cuddles, Fluff, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, hint of romance to come, homesick Jim, really just sweet fluff, understanding Silver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 03:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8517148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenSorceress/pseuds/GreenSorceress
Summary: Silver is there for Jim when he is feeling homesick and sad. (No sexy times)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Who couldn't use a little fluff? Just a sweet little something I wrote at work today.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who gave such wonderful feedback on my first TP fic! Positive response like this really really motivates me to continue!

While most spacers disliked the night watch, Silver had never minded it much. The solitude found on deck while the rest of the crew slept was hard to come by any other time, and the old cyborg relished sharing his with just the stars.

Though as he was heading off to his own bunk after his shift, Silver realized he hadn't been the only one up on board. Jim was sitting wedged into a corner behind the dinner table, his knees pulled up to his chest as he looked forlornly out one of the small portholes. 

"Jimbo? Whacha up so late fer?" Silver stumped over to where the cabin boy sat, scratching his head absently as he looked him over.

"Just...couldn't sleep," the boy mumbled, not looking up and Silver knew something must have been bothering him.

"Well, best be tryin' ta get some. We got an early mornin'." When Jim made no move to get up Silver leaned his heft against the large table. "Somethin' on yer mind, Jimbo?"

"You'd think I was being stupid."

"Oh come on now, ye wound me, boy-o. I'd never t'ink tha'. Lazy and ornery, sure, but ne'er stupid." His words elicited a small chuckle and Silver himself smiled in relief. 

"I'm just feeling a little homesick," Jim finally admitted, not looking up. "I've never been away from my mom and...I just miss her. It's dumb, I spent my whole life wanting to get off Montressor and now that I have...sometimes I can't wait to get back."

Silver's heart ached for the boy and he wished he could take Jim in his arms and hold him, even for a moment. "There's nothin' wrong wit' bein' homesick, lad. Ye'd be hard pressed ta find a spacer what ain't been homesick fer his momma at least once in all his days in space. Ain't no shame in it, neither. But sittin' out here losin' sleep ain't gonna make it any easier, so why not try'n get some rest?"

"Would you mind if I...," Jim trailed off as he finally raised his eyes, a glimmer of courage fading in their blue depths.

"Go on, don' be shy," Silver coaxed with as much gentleness as he could muster.

"Could I maybe sleep in your bunk tonight? I just...don't wanna be alone tonight," Jim mumbled, lowering his head again like he knew rejection would follow his words. 

"O'course, lad." Silver smiled fondly at the boy and held out his hand to help Jim from behind the table. He felt for him, it wasn't easy on a young pup on his own in the vastness of space; it felt good to be able to help, even in this small way.

With a look of relief that broke Silver's heart all over again, Jim took the offered hand and pulled himself out of the corner. He followed the Ursid into his room, really not much bigger than the galley pantry, but with highly coveted privacy not awarded to the lower spacer ranks. The small room was mostly filled with a wide, low bed, big enough to hold Silver's massive frame, a table and wash basin and a chair tucked into one corner. 

"It's no' much but there's privacy," Silver shrugged as he stepped aside for Jim to enter. 

The cabin boy wasted no time pushing past the large cyborg and climbing up onto his bed. "Mind if I take the outside?"

"Make yerself at home," Silver chuckled at his antics, sitting down to pull off his boot and the bandana covering his hair. The rickety chair creaked under his weight and he shifted carefully.

"Do you ever get homesick?" Jim asked as Silver rose and made the single step to the bed. There was something in his voice, a quiet desperation to know that he wasn't alone in his feelings. 

"I been gone so long I don' t'ink there's any home left ta be sick fer," Silver replied as switched off his beside solar lamp and climbed over Jim into the bed, careful not to crush the lad. "But in me early days o' spacin' I had me share o' sleepless nights and sniffles in tha privy."

The Ursid settled onto his bed, the mattress sagging beneath him and causing the boy to roll into the dip. But rather than scoot away as Silver imagined, Jim flung an arm around his belly and laid his head on Silver's shoulder as if it were their nightly routine. 

At first the old spacer was too surprised to move, but when Jim didn't pull away he finally wrapped his organic arm around the boy's back, his large hand resting just above Jim's bottom.

For a while the only sounds in the small room were Silver's breathing and the occasional creak of the ship, but there was a wetness on his shoulder and a shudder in the small body pressed against him. He didn't blame the lad for his tears, he'd been there himself when he'd been a cabin boy, so many long years passed. And he knew as well as any spacer what Jim actually needed in that moment; not words or jokes or even an acknowledgement of those tears. The boy just needed to cry it out and nothing more. 

So Silver gently tightened his grip and began to hum an old tune that his own mother used to sing when he was just a cub. The melody was enough to drown out any escaped sobs and managed to spare Jim's dignity in the process.

Eventually Jim’s shoulder stopped shaking and he shifted enough to wipe his nose with the back of his hand. Silver pretended to be asleep as he felt Jim compose himself, having stopped humming a few minutes back.

“Thank you,” Jim whispered into the dark and Silver knew he didn’t expect or need an answer.

He pretended to sleep even as he felt a soft, tentative kiss on the corner of his mouth, and hoped Jim couldn’t feel the pounding of his heart when he settled back down on Silver’s chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please take a moment to leave a comment!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr at thegreensorceress


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